Intro to Course Bloggin' (from a dummy)

So, here’s what I’m thinking about this blogspace, which I am tentative in developing for fear that I will reveal that I am not as hip as those of you who are already cool enough to have created, joined, and/or contributed to other blogs in the recent past. Regardless, here it goes.

In the past I have managed this ongoing online assignment via a google-group, which sort of mass emails everyone in the group the contributions of other members. Clumsily, the groups got the posts to everyone. However, that technology, I think, didn’t achieve the efficacy of the assignment as I designed it. In fact, it was exactly the technology, and not the students, that limited effectiveness. Hence, the blog. The goal/objective of the online posts is supposed to be a sort of pre-class discussion of questions and ideas that we have as we encounter the semester’s texts. The blog, I am hopeful, will more “naturally” allow the posts to present themselves more like a conversation than individual emails with limited connection.

For the first couple of weeks, I will have “notes” and “discussion ideas” links on the course webpage. In reading these, envision critical engagements with the texts that are bold, risky, and thoughtful, even if they are ill-developed or under-refined. The posts are meant to be a breading ground for in-class discussions and a way for you to follow other students’ thoughts and ideas, including those that some might be tentative to raise in our class discussion. In, like, eight sentences, you should be able to introduce a critical idea or engage in midstream a thread created by others. Feel free to take more (digital) inkspill to explore ideas and be confident in your ability to think into and through an idea/thought/concept.

I hope this introduction hasn’t bored, confused, or otherwise flustered you in any way. If you have questions of concern about topics I’ve not covered, ask